Letter to my Children's children

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(Edited)

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My dear child,

I am writing this letter as part of my legacy and will be sharing lessons from my life.

You of course will learn new lessons as you step through life with its' ups and downs, but the secret is to cherish the good times, learn from the bad experiences, and not carry that baggage for the rest of your life. They belong to the ash heaps of yesterday, always remember that!

Believe in and be Yourself

The most valuable lesson I learned was to believe in myself and to be myself; something your great-grandparents taught me, by example.

My mother and my Ouma (Grandma) could work magic in the kitchen, my favourite playground as you very well know, and I wanted to cook and bake like them. I used to stand on a chair by the table when they were baking and I'd ask for the 'decipe' book even though I could not read, but they indulged me.
The first lesson learned, encourage rather than discourage.

I likely got in the way, but they did not chase me outside, so when I got to my teens, I started experimenting in the kitchen to save Mom from cooking.
My concoctions were really weird, and not tasty at all; my four brothers (your uncles) forced the food down because my Dad told them big sister cooked it, especially for them, and if they finished their food, he would take us all to the local cafe and buy us candy.
My Dad would finish his food in no time, likely to get the torture over quickly, and he would thank me for cooking such a delicious dinner. This encouraged me to cook something even better next time. As you also know, my cooking and baking has been enjoyed by many over the years;)

Another lesson learned - never give up, and you will succeed, no matter how difficult or impossible it seems, and never compare yourself with others, this is one of the most soul-destroying habits.

Hard Work and Ethics

My parents were born during the Great Depression, and never had it broad, but instilled in me that I could achieve anything through sheer hard work and faith, and that I was to maintain a high standard of ethics at all times.

Choices

Be careful with the choices you make, do not be swayed by others and trust your gut feeling! If it doesn't feel right, simply do not go there!
Choose your career path carefully as you will spend most of your life in the workplace, wherever that may be.
Be consistent and push through, especially when the going gets tough.

A very important motto to remember and to teach your children is that for every action, there's a reaction, so remember that the choices you make, will determine your life and the people you will meet.

Talking about people, you will learn all about the phrase:

It takes all kinds to make the world go round.

You will meet kindred spirits along the way, treasure those friendships, and be kind to others.

Some people you meet, will not be very nice, but try to put yourself in their shoes, and believe it or not, you have it in you to bring out the best in most. Of course, you will not always succeed, so just walk away and let those be.

You will encounter more than one bully in your life, but they are the ones who feel inferior, and actually envy you for being the beautiful human being that you are.

Follow your Dream

I learned late in life, to take the plunge, when it was time for retirement, so grabbed the bull by the horns and started our successful little BnB Lily's Cottage, but only after looking at all the pros and cons.
I learned this from your great-Grandma who ran her own little food-vending business offering delicious homemade pies, jaffles, crumpets/flapjacks sandwiched with homemade apricot jam, plus other tasty eats. Your great-Grandpa built a push-cart that was taken to a local textile factory by Mary, great Grandma's loyal employee; everything was sold out each day.

Treat everyone you meet with respect, no matter what their so-called standing in life is; mutual respect and loyalty go hand in hand.

Use all your Talents till you have nothing left!

Great grandpa was a talented musician and used to play in the big bands of the ballroom era.
Both my Mom and Dad used every bit of talent to better the lives not only of ours, but others around them.
Your Great grandpa was super-skilled in DIY jobs and passed on those skills to my four brothers, always inventing useful implements for great Grandma's kitchen and for stuff around the home.

Talent is the one thing you need to use up and not waste, as Erma Bombeck said:

When I stand before God at the end of my life,
I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say,
I used everything you gave me.

Balance and taking Time out

It's vital for your well-being that you keep the balance between work and play; busyness becomes pointless if you're killing yourself chasing money or fame.
Take good care of yourself, or you will not be able to help anyone!

Gifts that build precious memories last forever, whereas expensive gifts are quickly forgotten. Tickets to a special event, an experience, a holiday, or a special picnic out in a park or nature reserve, leave awesome memories and build kinship.

Build that Nest Egg

Learn about Crypto Currencies, and invest as a future nest-egg, but only after doing careful research from trusted sources.

I had to come back here and edit as I forgot to mention one of my biggest life changers, and that is blogging here on the Hive blockchain which is a great learning ground for Crypto.
I've been amazed that doing something I love could actually earn me Crypto, zero investment except time!
I've also met fascinating people from all corners of the globe.
Patience and slow growth is vital when it comes to crypto, and will get you to the winning post.
Always live within your means, and do not be wasteful during a bull run. Rather HODL, a term you may already be aware of, unlike in my younger days when Crypto was unheard of.

Never fall for get-rich-quick schemes, there is no such thing!

You may notice that I've left finances to the very last; it is important, but not the be-all and end-all!

Live a life that has meaning and focus on what really matters.

Thank you for being 'you', for reading this letter, and most of all, remember that I love and cherish you forever after.

Much love,
Your Nana xxx

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I hope you've enjoyed reading this letter to my 'grandchild-to-be,' as well as my grandchildren from other mothers.

It's also my ineligible entry for this month's #bom - Silver Bloggers' Blog of the Month - Lessons for my (grand)children from my school of life.


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29 comments
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What a wonderful post Lizelle! Thank you for sharing it. I can imagine future generations of your family reading this aloud at family gatherings with a smile.

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(Edited)

Tbank you Eric, it's a whole pile of ramblings on, but I will share it with my sons, my older son introduced me to the blockchain and I'll always be thankful for that. Come to think of it, that's been a life-changer for me, and needs to be part of those life lessons as it's opened up a whole new world.. Edit coming up☺️💕

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Such a wonderful piece.

I'm taking some lessons too myself, to never give up till I succeed.

Thank you for sharing with us😊😊

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Thank you for reading @redna, I think I ended up with way too many, but...I have seen many moons in my lifetime already :)

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Indeed your blessed.😊

My heart melted with that phrase"you've seen many moons 🤭.

Thank you!

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WOW. What an incredible collection of generational wisdom, all wrapped up perfectly in the intention of your narration! This is a fabulous treasure trove of valuable information!

I smiled that finances were last, because if you ignore all the previous lessons, money will be unable to make you happy (unless you have some crazy heap of it, I suppose that’s up to interpretation haha)

I think over things like this a lot as I raise my little ones, so I was very grateful to hear an experienced woman detail her thoughts on these topics! Thank you 💕

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Hi @grindan, nice seeing you here ;) Yep perhaps too many to take in all at once, but I hope you can take some of it and interpret it to suit your lifestyle. Enjoy your little ones, they grow up way too fast xxx

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Wisdom from a wise nana, really motivating. Being true to oneself always pays off and you have mentioned that several times. Also, as I can see, growing up to be humane to others is a thing the next generation should focus more and more. No matter what happens to this world, to us, as long as humanity prevails, we can unite again.

Ah, crypto; quite an advanced move for a nanny, hahahha......yes, there is no get-rich-quick scheme. A lesson to be learned with all our heart and brain. Nicely penned ma'am. :)

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Thank you so very much for your thoughtful response @r-nyn, I'm glad that you've found it motivating, and you are so right, we need to become way more humane to others, and not just focus on our own wants and needs not so!

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Beautifully written my friend, knowing you has taught me a great deal about life.
Such a wonderfully wise Nana for sure. Lots of love to you @lizelle .

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Still waiting to be a Nana ;) but we have many 'adopted' grandkiddies with regular guests, so will be satisfied with them...I've learned a whole lot from you as well my friend xxx

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Oh Lizzie I loved this. You have put such important life lessons in this letter and ones that I can totally relate to. Your children are so lucky to have you 😍
And I feel lucky to have met you in Hive and have the privilege to be a SB 🤗😘

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Ah thank you Eli and I say...
SNAP!
I'm sooo happy to have you on our team and really blessed to have met you here on Hive!
It's been quite a challenge this month but valuable lessons that we're all leaving here for our children / grandchildren 💖

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Seeking out balance, health, happiness far exceeds the wealth many fall prey to chasing, looking after the pennies and the pounds take care of themselves.

Great letter to save for the future generation, as always done by example!

!LADY

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A very true phrase about saving those pennies Joan. Those who chase wealth are actually very poor in spirit, a sad and empty life indeed.
Wishing you a wonderful week🤗

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What nice advice, a compendium of everything a person needs to know to be happy in life, to know about their ancestors, to find meaning in life by looking at what is important such as self-motivation, self-esteem, entrepreneurship, and keeping good values.

So much wisdom in this post, thank you, my dear @lizelle 🤗

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So much to love about this post! Thanks for it!

Great grandpa was a talented musician and used to play in the big bands of the ballroom era.
Both my Mom and Dad used every bit of talent to better the lives not only of ours, but others around them.
Your Great grandpa was super-skilled in DIY jobs and passed on those skills

Facebook shared another excerpt:

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Awe thank you @carolkean, It warms my heart to see that you found this letter 'speak' to you, thanks for the FB shout-out ♥️

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